The Indian Army effected a change of guard in the crucial Northern Command on Sunday with Lt Gen Hari Prasad taking over as its new general officer commanding-in-chief.

The army, however, has put off changing the command of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Lt Gen V G Patankar, who was to move over to the Army Headquarters on promotion from the 15 Corps, will stay on till September in order to provide continuity in the command.

The Northern Command looks after the Sino-Indian border in Ladakh and a 940 km stretch of Line-of-Control with Pakistan stretching from just beyond Kargil to Chamb sector in Jammu.

Before taking over the command, Gen Prasad was Director General of Infantry at the Army Headquarters.

For his outstanding performance and distinguished service of an exceptional order, he was awarded by the President ofIndia the Vishist Seva Medal in 1993 and the Ati Vishist Seva Medal in 1998.

Lt Gen Hari Prasad was commissioned into the Maratha Light Infantry on August 2, 1964.

The general is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He has attended the higher command course at the College of Combat, now redesignated as the War College, Mhow, a release from the Northern Command headquarters in Udhampur said.